Category: Marketing & Branding

Creative Business Lawyer Resignation

I’m sad.

Yesterday I posted a tweet that I was struggling with an important and difficult business decision.  That decision was whether or not to remain a leader/member of the new Creative Business Lawyer Program that I helped create with my friend Alexis Martin Neely.

Alexis is one of the most creative and hardworking people I know. I have a great deal of respect for her.

Yesterday, however, it was confirmed that we have a fundamental difference of perspective relative to the program and after much consideration (I didn’t sleep much last night), I’ve decided that the best thing for me to do is withdraw from participation in the program.

If there’s interest, I may continue helping attorneys find new ways of serving small creative businesses. I honestly don’t know how that will shake out.

What I do know is that I wish all the members of the CBL program only the best in their personal and professional endeavors.

—

OK, on to the other business of the day…

-Kevin.

Ignite Fort Collins – NEXT WEEK

Next week I’ll be one of the many speakers at Ignite Fort Collins.  There are still some free tickets available.  Click here to reserve your seat: http://ignitefortcollins.eventbrite.com/

If you’re not familiar with the Ignite format, each speaker has only 5 minutes and 20 slides (each on 15 second auto-timers) to Ignite the audience with whatever they’re talking about.  Most of the topics are audience-selected, but a few are selected by the organizers.

Here are the event Details: http://ignite.oreilly.com/2009/11/ignite-fort-collins-4.html

Ignite Fort Collins Colorado #4 & Global Ignite Week: Thursday March 4, 2010

Ignite is a night of presentations on a variety of topics, with a twist. Each presentation has 20 slides that automatically advance after 15 seconds. It is a worldwide movement. View sample presentations from other events around the world here.

We’re bringing geeks, designers, and hipsters together for a night of beer drinking and fun.

Tickets go on sale at 9:25 AM on Thursday, February 18.
Tickets are required and available at 3 price levels: Free (as always!), $5 (micro-sponsor) and $10 (mini-sponsor). The event is expected to sell out, so mark your calendar…
Get tickets here

New sponsorship levels!
Read all about our new micro- and mini-sponsor levels. Become an Ignite Fort Collins sponsor for as little as $5.

BEvERages and food The first keg is on us, after that a cash beer bar will be open. Delicious snacks are also provided.

Event location:
Drake Centre
802 West Drake Road
Fort Collins, CO 80526
[map]

Doors open at 6 PM. Presentations at 7 PM. Get there early – socialize and enjoy some free snacks and beer.

Presentations selected for Ignite Fort Collins #4
In order of presenters first name:

Coworking: The New Way to Work, Angel Kwiatkowski
The top 10 do’s and don’ts when faced with a Zombie Invasion, Chris Vieville
Fifteen Films I Hope You Haven’t Missed!, Dave Taylor
The Strong, Healthy Lives of 50 Athletes Over 50, Don McGrath
The State of Data Visualization, Douglas
Homegrown Healthcare- How Love, Art and Facebook conquered Medical Bankruptcy, Frank Stanley
How iFarted and Came Out Smelling Like a Rose, Joel Comm
How not to drive like a douche in the mountains, joshmishell
The Red Pill – A Whirl-Wind Tour Through Western Esoteric Symbology, Kevin Houchin
What’s it like to be a host mom for Ft. Collins Foxes baseball players! Marge Brodahl
Top 10 Reasons Why It’s More Fun to Hate Your Job, Michael Joseph
Marketing is for the Dogs, Nick Armstrong
Dating & Recruiting …..pssst they aren’t all that different after all! Nora Burns
How to Talk Your Way Out of a Traffic Ticket, Traci Brown


No Lame Names (FREE) talk in Fort Collins

Refresh NoCo Power Lunches begin in March

Thursday, March 11th, 12 Noon to 1pm
Art Lab Fort Collins, 239 Linden St. (next to Cozzola’s Pizza)

Grab Your Brown Bag Lunch and join your marketing, design, and web friends for an informative yet entertaining lunch learning session:

Kevin Houchin, Creative Business Lawyer, presents the first in this series:

No Lame Names.

Help yourself and your clients create brands for their companies, products, or services that will be both MARKETABLE and PROTECTABLE.

Before going to law school Kevin was a graphic designer. He wasn’t one of those people who would just buy a Mac and some software from Adobe and then call himself a designer.He spent 4 years at a top university and have a BFA in Graphic Design. He started his career in the design department of a Fortune 500 company and then built an Art Department in a small advertising agency. He built his own design studio, worked as Vice President of Marketing and Internet for a retail software company, and finally provided large-scale branding and communications consulting for colleges and universities all across the United States.

Kevin has designed dozens of logos and branding systems and supervised the design and implementation of dozens more.

The hardest part of those jobs: lame names.

This session walks you through the discussions Kevin has had with his clients. If you attend the session and then follow the steps in his FREE ebook (available free at www.houchinlaw.com – just input your email address) you will understand how to help yourself and your clients create brands for their companies, products, or services that will be both MARKETABLE and PROTECTABLE. It’s not easy. It can be frustrating, but the right name is the hub of your brand and few businesses or products will succeed in today’s market without a great name.

Where did February Go?

It’s almost the end of February, 2010.  The last 8+ weeks have been a blur of activity, but some cool things have happened:

1.  H&A has welcomed a new client every week so far in 2010 on average, with another handful pulling a few final details together before pulling the trigger to start their new companies. Almost all of these new clients are start-up businesses with some incredibly creative plans.  Some are existing businesses that are launching new products and services and need our help structuring joint ventures or helping with intellectual property strategies.  We LOVE working with these kinds of folks and they fit right in with our existing base of creative business clients. On that front, our existing clients haven’t stopped their creative output – while we love new clients, it’s just as fun to see the growth and success of the people we’ve helped before.

2.  I get to say “we” now because now I have an Associate Attorney on staff again.  I had a part-time associate back in 2007, but I honestly didn’t have the consistent flow of work needed to support the position back then, so I took a couple years to figure some things out (including the flat fee model introduced last May – more on that in a minute).  I’m happy to announce that Christina Robertson has joined me as a full-time Associate Attorney as of a couple weeks ago.  Christina graduated with a J.D. from The University of Denver College of Law and will complete her M.B.A. this semester – with an emphasis on entrepreneurism.  Obviously, she’s a perfect fit for H&A and is already helping me catch up on work.  I REALLY needed the help and she’s stepped into the role quickly.  Welcome Christina!

3. I’ve officially started The Creative Business Lawyer Program with my good friend Alexis Martin Neely. This program is helping other lawyers who focus on the needs of small business people change their perspectives and business model to better serve their clients, themselves, their families, and their communities. One of the key elements of being a CBL member is learning how to implement the monthly, flat-fee client relationships that have literally changed my since last May.  I’ve basically eliminated hourly billing (which NOBODY likes). If you want to learn more about this program (I have over 30 clients on the flat fee model now), go over to www.creativebusinesslawyer.com and let us know you’re interested.  If you are an entrepreneur, we’ll send you a list of our attorney members and you can find one that fits your needs.  If you’re a lawyer who wants to make some SERIOUS improvements in your life, then let us know you’re interested and we’ll get you signed up for our next open membership enrollment call on March 18th.

4.  We’re finally settling into the new office space in the Fort Collins Museum of Contemprary Art.  This building is a historic landmark. It was built in 1912 as the Post Office for Fort Collins.  Wonderful vibes.  My assistant, Nora, just told me she has ideas for opening her own business now that she’s been exposed to so much entrepreneurial and creative spirit coming from our clients and our new location. Good things are happening.

5.  Speaking events.  I have a bunch of speaking events starting to book including Ignite Fort Collins on March 4th, a lunch lecture on Trademark on March 11th, and a couple fun presentations at The National Guild of Hypnotists Annual Meeting and The American Bar Association Annual Meeting – both in August.  I’ll post details on those soon.

I’ll try to do better about blogging, but it might take a little while.  I have several major writing projects that need my attention, but more on those as they get closer to completion.

Tobin (my 6-yr-old daughter) just woke up and is asking for breakfast.  Gotta go.

FTC, GEP, & Market Research

What’s that title all about anyway!? If you’ve been paying attention, you know that as of December 1st, 2009 you can’t use your wonderfully true, but not typical (what I call “aspirational”) client testimonials in your marketing and advertising unless you clearly and conspicuously disclose “Generally Expected Performance Results.”

So, what’s the problem?

The problem is that most of us don’t have data to state what the Generally Expected Performanc Results ARE.

We’ve never done the research.

Now we must.

I was approached by Michelle DeKinder-Smith with an opportunity to co-affiliate the Site Compliant program, including the FTC Toolkit with her professional market research services. You wouldn’t guess it from first glance, but Michelle has over 20 years of consumer product market research experience – including projects for some brands that you would easily recognize.

Michelle was the first market research pro to understand the implications of the new FTC rules.  We immediately hit it off and saw a way to help each other out.

The first thing we did was a survey of the people who had purchased or otherwise indicated an interest in the Site Compliant LLC products including the FTC Toolkit. I don’t know how many of you have ever worked on a market research project, but let me tell you that working with Michelle was PAINLESS, EFFICIENT, and effective.

We found out great information about the products and services we’re offering through Site Compliant – including ways to improve the offer.  We also found out that 8-10 customers though the FTC Toolkit was a great value for their money!

Now we’re ready to take it (and you) to the next level.  Michelle has created a couple solutions to help people gather and analyze customer data so that YOU CAN use your wonderful testimonials again.

REMEMBER, the NEW FTC GUIDES require the disclosure of Generally Expected Performance Data when using testimonials – especially testimonials of the “aspirational” nature.  IF YOU USE atypical/aspirational testimonials without this GEP data disclosure, your aspirational (and completely truthful) testimonial will be interpreted as a statement of generally expected performance results, likely subjecting you to accusations of “deceptive advertising” from the FTC.

Michelle and I will be doing a FREE WEBINAR on the topic of Generally Expected Performance Results and the Market Research you need to back up your claims TOMORROW at 2pm EASTERN.

Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/667018355

Again, the webinar is free, will only take an hour, and will be hugely informational and helpful if you want to use those great aspirational testimonials again.

OK, it’s time to register now.  Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/667018355

Share the word.

Again, that’s Wednesday, December 16th at 2pm Eastern. (TOMORROW!)